If you still want to make a donation to make sure that CITIZEN KOCH gets out far and wide, please click here (it's tax-deductable): www.citizenkoch.com/donate

We
are so very grateful to all of you who are have joined us on this journey to
complete CITIZEN KOCH and release it into the world!

There’s
no limit to what we can accomplish together.

With
our deepest gratitude and admiration,

Tia & Carl

____________________________

Watch the "Citizen Koch" trailer now:

Please help ensure that our film and the voices in it are not silenced.

Money has long played a starring role in politics, but things really got out of control after the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United, engineered by corporate and far-right interest groups to super-enfrancise the wealthiest and disenfranchise ordinary Americans.

"Citizen Koch" tells that story -- from the political influence wielded by billionaire industrialists and conservative activists David and Charles Koch, and others like them, to the real-life struggles of ordinary Republicans and Democrats as they collide with the big money juggernaut.

We were thrilled last spring when "Citizen Koch" was greenlit for funding by public television. That meant that not only could we finish shooting and editing the film, but it would be headed to free TV broadcast next fall for the largest audience in the U.S. -- PBS, and all of you.

Then everything changed.

Last fall, fearing that our story might displease a particular PBS donor -- David Koch himself -- public television dropped its financial support for "Citizen Koch". Journalist Jane Mayer exposed this self-censorship in the New Yorker magazine.

It turns out that David Koch is a donor to PBS flagship stations WNET and WGBH and on their board of trustees. And without lifting a finger or even taking out his checkbook, Koch was able to influence funding and programming decisions at public television. And our film was effectively censored.

Not only did we lose $150,000 in funding, but millions of viewers lost their chance to see "Citizen Koch" on public television. All because of David Koch's money.

The process that led to "Citizen Koch" being
pulled from the airwaves illustrates exactly the point that Lessin and Deal's
film makes: Money can not only buy action in our democracy, it can also buy
silence.

- Michael Keegan, President, People for the American Way

We aren't giving in to this censorship or the power of David Koch, and we intend to release the film in the coming months. But we can't do it without your help. Kickstart "Citizen Koch" so we can bridge the funding gap and distribute the film!

What happened to "Citizen Koch" provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at how big money from high dollar donors has massive influence on one of our most beloved public institutions, and on the public discourse.
Ironically, that’s exactly what our film is about -- how the money of the wealthiest drowns out the voices of the rest of us.

We believe that your voice can be louder than David Koch's money.

Film can be a powerful tool for change, but only when it has an audience, and only when it has an advocate. That's why we need YOUR help!

We believe that our politicians, and our public airwaves, should not be compromised by big money. So do the ordinary Americans -- Republicans and Democrats -- who share their stories in our film. They deserve to be heard. You can make sure they will be.

We need your help now to release "Citizen Koch." If you can give, please do. Any amount will help. Those trying to keep you from seeing the film are banking on the cynical belief that you don't care. We are convinced that you do.

Your pledge will go toward delivering the film for distribution – paying for the sound mix, the color correct, archival footage and music licensing costs, and other distribution expenses, and then engaging the widest audience possible.

We are very grateful for any amount you can give.

Thank you.

--Carl Deal & Tia Lessin

Risks and challenges

The biggest challenge that we face in getting "Citizen Koch" out in the world is in overcoming the commercial and political forces that seek to shield billionaire political activists like David and Charles Koch from public scrutiny and who fear the political impact that "Citizen Koch" can generate. We’ve already seen their power and reach.

In the face of this challenge, we are calling on YOU, as people who love film and believe, like us, that films can help create change, to counter the efforts of those who would like to vanquish our film.

We take inspiration from the words of former Louisiana Governor and four-term congressman Buddy Roemer, who makes this plea in "Citizen Koch":

“I would like you to do something different. I would like you to bring a check -- but not $35,800 dollars on Wall Street. Sixty bucks. And have your neighbor do that. And have a million people do that. And then five million people do that. And then guess who runs the country? The people do.”

From Gov Roemer in his quixotic bid for the White House, risking becoming a pariah in his beloved GOP, to the Republican public employees in Wisconsin who chose to risk their very livelihoods to stand up for democracy, "Citizen Koch" pays tribute to risk-takers. We take inspiration from each of them and their principled stands, and, like them, we won’t back down.

Ultimately, we will measure the success of "Citizen Koch" not by box office receipts or festival awards or even critical acclaim. But on whether audiences are left debating what they just saw and even inspired and moved to take action. We will measure our success by how mad and nervous we make those in power. It may take a heck of a fight to get "Citizen Koch" on the air or into the theaters, but if it didn’t, then maybe the story wasn’t worth telling.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

In addition to the e-SWAG, preview scenes, and chat with the filmmakers, you'll qualify for a special credit on the Donor Wall (at your request) on the "Citizen Koch" website to acknowledge your generous support.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

Get a FREE digital download or DVD of the film for home use upon release - whichever distribution format is available first. Please understand that while the DVD release is planned for 2014, your pledge will help expedite its availability! In addition, of course you'll also receive all the above.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

DVD KIT: We'll thank you in the end credits of the "Citizen Koch" DVD, and send you a FREE digital download and a signed copy of the official DVD for home use upon release. Please note that while the DVD release is not anticipated until 2014, your donation will help expedite its availability! You'll also receive all the e-SWAG as part of the package.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

In addition to the DVD KIT, we’ll send you a limited edition archival print of the Daniel Hertzberg illustration as seen in the "New Yorker" magazine article by Jane Mayer: "A Word from Our Sponsor: Public television's attempts to placate David Koch."

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $350 or more
About $350

Get the limited-edition, signed and numbered 13 x 19 print by noted Wisconsin artists Lane Hall and Lisa Moline of their Overpass Light Brigade Citizens United action! This inspiring art project grew out of the 2011 Wisconsin protest movement and has spread throughout the country. And we'll also send you the full DVD KIT where you will see the very first OLB action, which helped launch the recall of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $350 or more
About $350

We'll send you the full DVD KIT and an original "Rat Eating Badger" screen print by noted Wisconsin artist Nicolas Lambert that was used in the 2011 Wisconsin Capitol protest movement. Look for it in the film!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

Schedule an exclusive, online, private chat session with the filmmakers! Get their input on your filmmaking project ideas, brainstorm, get creative producing and fundraising advice. We’ll also send you the DVD KIT, along with a signed copy of Academy Award-nominated TROUBLE THE WATER, the filmmakers’ last film.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Go ALL-IN and receive all of the following: the entire DVD KIT package, a signed copy of the filmmakers' Oscar-nominated documentary TROUBLE THE WATER, and a THANK YOU credit in the end credits of the film -- including Theatrical Prints -- to acknowledge your involvement with CITIZEN KOCH.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

In addition to the ALL-IN rewards detailed above, we'll give you a pair of tickets to the New York City or Washington, DC premiere of CITIZEN KOCH where you will meet the directors in person, see the film with an exclusive audience, and spend the evening with the people who made the film possible! (transportation and accommodations not included)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,500 or more
About $1,500

Not only will you receive the ALL-IN rewards for your support, but you'll also receive a special invitation to sit in on the final sound mix in New York City this Summer! (transportation and accommodations not included)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

Receive all the benefits of an ALL-IN supporter, plus, you'll dine with the filmmakers after the show and they’ll deliver an extra-special treat: a personally curated package of their favorite documentaries of all time. (If you cannot make it to the screening, you can be guests of the filmmakers in their NYC studio, and enjoy a private screening!)